Maybe there’s more to this story than meets the eye, but what’s meeting the eye here seems pretty dumb: Royals announcer Rex Hudler has made it his personal mission to stop Royals players from being friendly with opposing players during games, so Ned Yost has put a stop to it.

Royals infielders have been friendly with opposing baserunners, even after some big hits by the opposition.

Royals announcers Rex Hudler and Ryan Lefebvre have gone on-and-on about it on the air and on recent radio spots, saying it’s disrespectful and not old school and whatnot, and that Ned Yost should do something about it.

Ned Yost held a closed door meeting and has instructed his players to no longer fraternize with the opposition.

This despite the fact that Royals GM Dayton Moore said when asked about it all that he doesn’t think it’s a big deal.

This all seems so silly. Players on every team chat up players on the opposing teams. It’s a state of affairs that has existed for a long time. Probably longer than most of the old timers who claim that it was unheard of back in their day will admit. Why this is bothersome to anyone now is a mystery.

What’s worse, though, is this bit from Hudler:

Hudler commented on Kansas City radio station WHB: “You can stand 10 feet away from a player and smooth out the dirt and still talk to a player without giving the appearance that you’re in his back pocket. When you’re in uniform out there, respect the game of baseball and respect your teammates. And stay out of the back pockets of opponents when people are watching. It makes me want to vomit.”

So it’s not that Hudler is opposed to players talking to one another. He’s just opposed to them looking like they are because “people are watching.” So who is it, exactly, that Hudler thinks the players should be deceiving?

Whatever the case, here’s a great tip to any major league organization: don’t let your broadcasters dictate team policy. You’re unlikely to get good results.

I gotta say, every forum, blog post, or conversation I’ve ever seen/had with anybody who has had to endure listening to a broadcast with Rex Hudler has said that it’s him that makes people want to vomit.

When I think old school I think Gibson, Ryan and Hudler. Isn’t this the same ass who went on the Rome show years back and talked about how endowed his infant son was? He has been banished from CA to BFEssouri Id be looking for something to bitch about as well.

It is another mark as to why this organization is going in the wrong direction. Hudler is inadequate. Fox Sports or the Royals dumped Frank White for this loser? But it’s deeper, the Royals settle for things like this. A young and talented offense has to work from behind every night, because the ownership won’t allow this team to succeed. Starting pitching has got worse as the young hitters have come up through the system. Lets see who coached most of these young hitters…Frank White?? Interesting! If Ned Yost thinks this is a closed door issue, he has bigger issues than Hudler.

This is the complete rule, imagine players totally ignoring fans during a game?

3.09
Players in uniform shall not address or mingle with spectators, nor sit in the stands before, during, or after a game. No manager, coach or player shall address any spectator before or during a game. Players of opposing teams shall not fraternize at any time while in uniform.